About the Series
Now in the 19th season, the Voyages of Discovery Series brings timely, thought-provoking, and impactful leaders to speak directly to our community. Established through the creativity and funding of the Dean’s Advancement Council of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences in 2007, the series advances the spirit of exploration and discovery that is at the heart of the arts and sciences. The Voyages Series showcases the quality of academic life at ECU, while sharing nuanced and meaningful insights into society’s pressing issues with our students, faculty, staff, and the community of eastern North Carolina.
We hope you will consider a gift to help sustain the series into the future!
2025-2026 Season
“Exploring Our Shared Humanity:
Insights from Our Past, Imagining Our Future”
Find Information about FREE Tickets for ECU Students, Faculty, and Staff here!
Sam Rad (Samantha Radocchia)
Anthropologist, Tech Entrepreneur, Futurist
Best-Selling Author of “Radical Next”
“Thriving in Times of Radical Change”
September 11, 2025
7 – 8:15 p.m. (EST) | Lecture and Audience Q&A
ECU Main Campus Student Center Ballrooms
501 E. 10th St., Greenville, NC 27858
Rad is a lifelong student of humanity. She is an anthropologist, entrepreneur and futurist focused on human connection, collaboration and creativity in the era of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the changing technological landscape. She is the founder of RAD Original Creations, a meta-media studio creating transformative stories, experiences and media productions that shape a positive future. Her newest best-selling book, “Radical Next: Reclaiming Your Humanity in a Post-Human World,” explores how advances in technologies, extended realities and quantum computing will transform societies — and how humans think about themselves — for decades to come. Rad was among the first anthropologists to conduct ethnographic research living in the virtual world “Second Life” in 2009.
Her work as a futurist has led Rad on a journey of working with a range of frontier technologies, indigenous and emerging social structures, people, places and practices. She refers to herself as an archaeologist of the future, as Fredric Jameson coined — applying a traditional anthropological ethnographic approach to envisioning and illustrating future possibilities.
A charismatic speaker and performer, Rad has shared stories of radical change with global audiences on stages across five continents — empowering individuals, leaders and organizations not only to survive, but to thrive through radical and accelerating change. She has advised the United Nations, WEF, Federal Reserve Bank and other prominent organizations.
Learn more about Rad. Watch a couple of short video clips from Rad, including a reel from a recent speaking engagement and a video where she answers the question, What is an anthropologist?
Dr. Brian Hare
Professor of Evolutionary Anthropology, Psychology and Neuroscience
NYT Best-Selling Author of “The Genius of Dogs”
“Survival of the Friendliest”
February 5, 2026
7 – 8:15 p.m. (EST) | Lecture, Audience Q&A and book signing
ECU Main Campus Student Center Ballrooms
501 E. 10th St., Greenville, NC 27858
Dr. Brian Hare is a professor of evolutionary anthropology, psychology and neuroscience, and he is a core member of the Center for Cognitive Neuroscience at Duke University. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2004, and in 2005, following his work at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany, he was awarded the Sofia Kovalevskaja Award, Germany’s most prestigious award for scientists under the age of 40. In 2007, Smithsonian Magazine named Hare one of the top 35 scientists under 36. Hare has published more than 100 scientific papers, and his research has received consistent national and international attention. In 2019, Hare and his research were featured in Steven Spielberg’s documentary series “Why We Hate.”
In 2024, Hare and his wife and research partner, Vanessa Woods, were featured in the Netflix documentary, “Inside the Mind of Dogs.” Hare is the author of several bestsellers with Woods, including “The Genius of Dogs,” “Survival of the Friendliest: Understanding Our Origins and Rediscovering Our Common Humanity” and “Puppy Kindergarten.” His second book, “Survival of the Friendliest,” was an international bestseller and won the Smart Book of the Year for 2022.
Learn more about Hare and watch a couple of short videos, including “Brian and Vanessa on Why They Study Puppies” and on the topic of “Survival of the Friendliest on National Geographic.”
2024 Voyages guest LeVar Burton with Series supporter Ms. Harvey Wooten. (Photo by Rob Taylor Photography & Design)
Voyages of Discovery Speaker Receptions
The 2025-2026 Voyages Series will include special-access receptions with the guest speaker prior to each public presentation.
Reception tickets are $45 and will include heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks. The receptions will have limited attendance and will be held from 5 – 6:30 p.m. in the Main Campus Student Center, Room 249, 501 E. 10th St., Greenville, NC 27858.
Guests attending the receptions, who park in the parking deck, may bring their parking ticket to the reception for a validation sticker for free parking. Guests who park in the garage, and only attend the 7 p.m. event, are responsible for the $2/hr rate.